Field hockey at the 2024 Olympics in Paris explained: Scoring, format, history

26/06/2024

NBC Universal, Inc.

The world’s top field hockey players are headed to France.

The sport is older than the modern Olympics, but it didn’t become part of the Olympic program until 1908 with the men’s competition.

The women’s competition made its Olympic debut in 1980, and the sport has since seen increased gender balance. Of the 30 million players worldwide, about 51% are women and 49% are men.

How does Olympic field hockey work, and which countries are best at the sport? Here’s everything to know ahead of the men’s and women’s competitions at the 2024 Olympics in Paris:

How big is an Olympic field hockey field?

Field hockey is played on a pitch 100 yards long and 60 yards wide.

Three lines cross the width of the field: one at midfield and one 25 yards from each backline. There is also a semicircle that extends 16 yards from each goal that marks the area where goals can be scored.

How big is an Olympic field hockey goal?

A field hockey goal is 12 feet wide, seven feet tall and four feet deep.

How big is a field hockey ball?

Field hockey balls are dimpled and made out of solid plastic. They weigh between 5.5-5.75 ounces, are about nine inches in circumference and can reach speeds up to 100 mph.

Why are field hockey sticks curved?

Field hockey sticks have a J-shape. The curved head is rounded on the right side and flat on the left side, and players can only hit the ball with the flat side of the stick.

There are no left-handed field hockey sticks.

How many people are on an Olympic field hockey team?

Rosters include 16 players. Eleven players, including the goalkeeper, are on the field for each team.

Olympic field hockey format

There will be two field hockey events at the 2024 Paris Olympics: a men’s tournament and a women’s tournament.

Each competition will include 12 teams divided into two groups. The group stage features round-robin play and the top four teams in each group advance to the quarterfinals. In pool group play, a win is worth three points in the standings, a draw is worth one point and a loss is worth zero points.

Following the quarterfinals and semifinals, the two semifinal winners will face off in the gold medal match, while the two semifinal losers will battle for bronze.

Olympic field hockey scoring

Each field hockey goal is worth one point and the team with the most points wins.

Matches are played across four 15-minute quarters. There is a two-minute break after the first and third quarter and a 15-minute break after the second quarter.

If a group-stage match is tied after four quarters, the match ends in a draw and each team receives one point in the standings. If an elimination or medal match is tied after four quarters, the teams will compete in a shootout to determine a winner.

Five players from each team alternate penalty strokes in the shootout. If the shootout is tied after those five players from each team go, the shootout moves to a sudden-death format where the first team to score more goals after an equal number of strokes wins.

Olympic field hockey medal table

India is the most decorated country in Olympic field hockey history with 12 total medals and eight golds. Australia has the next-most medals with 10 (one gold, four silver and five bronze), while Great Britain, Pakistan and Germany are tied for the second-most golds with three apiece.

Belgium won gold in the men’s tournament for the first time at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, while the Netherlands won women’s gold for the third time in four Olympics.

Has the U.S. ever won an Olympic medal in field hockey?

Team USA has two field hockey medals in its Olympic history.

The U.S. men earned bronze in 1932, placing third in that year’s three-team event. The U.S. women won their lone medal in 1984 by beating Australia in the bronze medal match.

The U.S. women qualified for the 2024 Olympics, while the men have not qualified for an Olympics outside the U.S. since 1956.

Paris Olympics field hockey teams

Here are the teams and groups for the men’s and women’s field hockey competitions at the Paris Olympics:

Men’s

Group A

Netherlands
Germany
Great Britain
Spain
France
South Africa

Group B

Belgium
India
Australia
Argentina
New Zealand
Ireland

Women’s